Locking means for floor-boards.



0. A. SCHANZ.

LOCKING MEANS FOR FLOOR B0 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. I9

. 1,241,667. Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

5 405600 9? fi a all 0000 e1;

OTTO A: SGH'ANZ, OF PORT TOIVNSEND; WASHINGTON.

LOCKING 'MEANS'FOR FLOOR EBOARDSb."

Specification of Letters Patent:

Patented 001.12, 19 17.

Application filed Jamel, 1917. Serial No. 176,072.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it .known that I, O'r'ro A. SGI-IANZ, ,a citizen of the UnitedStates,and resident of Port 'lownsend, county of Jefferson, State ofWashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in LookingMeans for Floor-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices which are used for holding down thefloor boards in the type of construction found in the Ford automobile.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap and effective means forholding these boardsdown, which will, with great certainty, preventtheir accidental rising and which may yet be set so as to permit freeremoval of these boards when desired.

My invention comprises the novel construction which is herein shown anddescribed. In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention in itspreferred form of construction.

Figure 1 is a plan view of that portion of an automobile which containsthe boards referred to.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevation through the board showing mydevice in use therewith.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the device on a larger scale;

Fig. 4 shows a plan View of the device set in position for the removalof the boards.

In the construction of a Ford automobile, two boards, 1 and 10, areused, forming a sloping floor extension at the forward end of theseating space. These boards are sup ported at their ends by resting uponlongitudinal frame members, as 11. These boards usually have anoverlapping or shiplap joint at their meeting edges and may be raised bybuckling upward the adjacent edges of these boards or of one of them.They are made of such a width that when pressed downward they willtightly fill the space.

These boards are liable to be jarred, or otherwise started upward, andat times give bother by not staying in place. It is the purpose of myinvention to provide a means for locking these boards down so there willbe no danger of their rising, and the upper board then dropping down andjamming the foot levers.

The means employed by me consists of a button 2, which is herein shownas being of circular shape, although the outer shape of the button islargely immaterial. This button is pivoted, as by a screw or nail 10, to

' the frame member 11 upon which the ends of "the boards 1 and 10 rest.This frame member is grooved so that the outer surface of the boards 1and '10 are flush with the upper surface of said frame member.

The button 2 has a notch 20 formed in one side thereof, this notchhaving its two sides of such a length and so related to each other, thatwhen the pivot of the button is placed in proper relation with thecorners of the boards 1 and 10, the button may be turned so that the twosides of this notch register with the two sides of one of these boards,as 1. In this position the lower boa rd 1 may be raised. The surface ofthese boards and the frame member 11 is inclined, as is shown in Fig. 2.

The tendency of any object pivoted upon an inclined or vertical surface,and in which the pivot is one which permits free movement, is for thebutton or other object to gradually work into such position that itsheavier side is downward. The location of the pivot of the button ispractically in line with the meeting edges of the two boards, 1 and 10.In consequence of this, and of the inclined position of the button, thetendency due to jarring or other causes, acts to turn the button tobring its heavy side downward and to bring the notch to the upper sideof the button. This is a position in which the button overlaps both theboards 1 and 10 and said boards cannot, therefore, be raised. In fact,the boards cannot be raised except the button is in exactly the rightposition. As there are two buttons, one on each side of the car, and thenatural tendency is for. those to turn into such position that theboards cannot be raised, there is practically no possibility of theboards accidentally rising. It will be necessary to adjust both of themcarefully to their proper position.

In the formation of the notch 20 in the button, I prefer that thematerial which was removed by the making of the notch be, in part atleast, turned downward and under so as to form a vertical flange 21. Asthe central part of the button is raised, thereby giving it a convexedshape, this flange may be of rather material depth at its inner end andin fact, may be turned slightly under, as is indicated in Fig. 3. Thisflange acts as a reinforcement to prevent pushing downward of the topsurface of the button. The

under curved edge of the flange also pro-- vides a somewhat largerbearing for the flange and thus prevents the flange from entering thecracks at the edge of the boards.

It thus facilitates shifting the button into its locking position.

What I claim as my invention is:

A button for securing down the floor boards of automobiles, having apivot and a notch extending inward from one edge and adapted to have itsside edges register with portions of adjacent side edges of one of theboards to be secured, the metal along a side of said notch being turneddown to form a flange which is normal to the bottom face of 15 OTTO A.SCHANZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, I). G.

